The Road to The Barn begins with the first of a four part section girls basketball preview. Up first are the eight Class AAAA sections.
In Section 1, the top seeded Lakeville North Panthers are on a roll with an 18 game winning streak. But look out for the second seeded Rochester Mayo Spartans who have won 12 straight games. It should be an interesting section final March 9 in Rochester and Mayo doesn't have to take a long bus ride down Highway 52.
The defending Class AAAA champion Minnetonka Skippers are the top seed in Section 2 but it's going to be a bit tougher to head back to Minneapolis since there is no definitive favorite in that section. The Skippers Lake Conference rival, the Edina Hornets have the second seed and the third and fourth seeds come from the South Suburban Conference, the Prior Lake Lakers and the Shakopee Sabers. Can the Lake Conference repeat or will the South Suburban has close to three team's in the Class AAAA field.
And speaking of the South Suburban Conference, the top two seeds in Section 3 have shown why the city of Apple Valley has been successful in both boys and girls basketball. The Eastview Lightning are the top seed but their dominance could be over if the second seeded Apple Valley Eagles battle the Lightning for the third time this season. Both teams split the season series and have a 20-6 record so it would be the rubber game for a trip to state. Hoping to end a potential All Apple Valley final are the third seeded Rosemount Irish and the fourth seeded Park of Cottage Grove Wolfpack.
Over in Section 4, if there's any guarantee, the team headed to state will come from the Suburban East Conference. The top seeded East Ridge Raptors look for their first trip to state but the second seeded White Bear Lake Polars hope to keep the Raptors team bus in their Woodbury garage. Don't count out the third seeded Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders or the fourth seeded Woodbury Royals.
Who will come out of Section 5? The top seeded Park Center Pirates, led by Mikayla Hayes, who will play at Florida next season. The second seeded Champlin Park Rebels, the third seeded Centennial Cougars are all 20-6 and have a good shot sinking the Pirates ship to state. Keep your eye on this section. It could be the toughest of the eight AAAA sections.
Now this sounds familiar, the Hopkins Royals are the top seed in Section 6. Even though they lost to Minnetonka in last year's AAAA final and Nia Hollie to graduation, the Royals didn't miss a beat and have a record of 26-0. Looking to end the Royals run is the second seeded Wayzata Trojans, the third seeded Cooper Hawks and the fourth seeded Armstrong Falcons. Also in the hunt is the fifth seeded Minneapolis South Tigers, led by Tayler Hill's younger sisters Jade and Morgan.
Another wide open section is Section 7, where the top seed is the Andover Huskies.The Forest Lake Rangers are seeded second and the Anoka Tornadoes have the third seed.
Go north to Section 8 and should be some really good basketball to watch as the top seeded and unbeaten Elk River Elks hope to end the second seeded St. Michael-Albertville Knights hammerlock on the section title. The other team that's on a roll is the third seeded Moorhead Spuds.
Next up are the eight Class AAA sections.
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